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Donald Trump, speaking from New York City, addressed his supporters after he was elected president of the United States. “It’s been what they call a historic event,” Trump said. “But to be really historic we have to do a great job and I promise you that I will not let you down.”
(Published Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016)

The world faces a starkly different America led by a President Donald Trump.

While the billionaire businessman's election was welcomed in some countries, others saw it as a big shock as governments will now have to deal with a man who has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, told NATO allies they would have to pay for their own protection and vowed to make the Mexican government pay for a multibillion-dollar border wall.

Trump's win was particularly startling in Mexico, where his remarks calling Mexican immigrants criminals and "rapists" were a deep insult to national pride. Financial analysts have predicted a Trump win would threaten billions of dollars in cross-border trade, and government officials say they have drawn up a contingency plan for such a scenario, though without releasing details.

Mexico's President Pena Nieto said he was ready to work with Trump to strengthen existing bonds.

"Mexico and the United States are friends, partners and allies and we should keep collaborating for the competitiveness and development of North America," Pena Nieto, who was criticized for meeting with Trump in Mexico in August, said on twitter.

Mexico's foreign minister said the government would not pay for a wall along the U.S. border promised by Trump, Reuters reported. Claudia Ruiz Massieu said the Mexican government has been communicating with the Trump campaign since the his visit to the country.

In a telegram, Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump and "expressed hope for cooperation in ending a crisis in Russian-American relations, as well as solving the important issues on the global agenda and searching for efficient responses to global security challenges," according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

French President Francois Hollande congratulated Trump, adding that "This American election ushers in a period of uncertainty. I have to address it with lucidity and clarity. The United States constitutes a partner of the first order for France. And what is at stake here is peace, the fight against terrorism, it’s the situation in the Middle East, it’s the economic relationships and the preservation of the planet."

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said "the results of the U.S. election have no effect on the policis" of his country. He added that Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers has been reflected in a United Nation Security Council resolution and cannot be dismissed by one government.

Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte wished Trump "success in the next four years" and said he "looks forward to working with the incoming administration for enhanced Philippines-US relations anchored on mutual respect, mutual benefit and shared commitment to democratic ideals and the rule of law."

"We face a challenging new security environment, including hybrid warfare, cyberattacks, the threat of terrorism," Stoltenberg said in a statement. "U.S. leadership is as important as ever. ... A strong NATO is good for the United States, and good for Europe."

In July, Trump said the United States might abandon its NATO military commitments, including the obligation to defend members against attacks. After that, Vice President Joe Biden said he had met with the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to reassure them that Trump doesn't represent America.

Biden said the three presidents were "scared to death" about the prospects of a Trump presidency and whether he would maintain the country's commitments to its NATO allies if they faced aggression from Russia.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said he hoped "Trump, would be guided by God to serve his country but also to promote peace and wellbeing in the world."

Stock market futures plunged dramatically, as investor expectations of an easy Clinton win ran head-long into a growing lead for Trump. And the Mexican peso fell sharply against the U.S. dollar in response to the results.

Chinese state media outlets cast the U.S. election as the embodiment of America's democracy in crisis in contrast to China's perceived stability under Communist party rule.

On Tuesday, the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV ran man-on-the-street interviews with unidentified American voters in which they expressed disgust with the system and dissatisfaction with both candidates.

But U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus assured "the world's most important relationship" between Beijing and Washington will remain stable regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Asked by a Chinese reporter about Trump's proposal for a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods imported in the U.S., Baucus said, "people say a lot of things in the heat of a campaign that are not quite as feasible as they think when they're elected."

The first French presidential candidate to comment on the U.S. election was populist, anti-immigrant politician Marine Le Pen, congratulating Trump even before the final results are known.

Le Pen, hoping to ride anti-establishment sentiment to victory in April-May French presidential elections, tweeted her support to the "American people, free!"

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said France would continue to work with the new president whoever wins the final tally, though expressed concern about Trump's lead and said it could hold a cautionary message for Europe.

"We don't want a world where egoism triumphs," Ayrault said on France-2 television Wednesday. France's Socialist government had openly endorsed Clinton.

Ayrault said European politicians should pay attention to the message from Trump voters. "There is a part of our electorate that feels ... abandoned," including people who feel "left behind" by globalization, he said.

He said a Trump victory could bring "more incertitude" to French politics.

Watching the results at a New Zealand bar, 22-year-old student Sarah Pereira said she is looking forward to working as an intern in the U.S. Congress, but dreads the prospect of Donald Trump winning the presidency.

Pereira, a master's student in strategic studies, said she will leave for Washington this weekend after winning a scholarship to work for Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks. She predicted the effects of a Trump on international relationships would be "catastrophic."

And Indonesians on social media are questioning why Americans have voted in big numbers for billionaire Trump, who many in the world's most populous Muslim country perceive as intolerant and reactionary.

Twitter, Facebook and chatrooms in instant messaging apps are buzzing with speculation about whether Trump would follow through on campaign rhetoric that included a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Some people said that under a Trump administration they fear they'll be prevented from visiting relatives and friends who live in America or traveling there as tourists.

About 100,000 Indonesians live in the United States.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on national television that his government will work with whoever becomes president.

Trump has also pledged to withdraw U.S. support for the Paris climate change agreement that was reached largely through hard negotiating with China.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told an aide before the 11 p.m. ET hour that "the competition is closer than expected" in the U.S. election, according to the Kyodo News service.

The Japanese government has remained neutral in public statements, but analysts on both sides of the Pacific have talked about a possible change in U.S. policy toward Japan and the rest of Asia if Trump should win.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reaffirmed his government's commitment to the U.S.-Japan security alliance. He told reporters that whoever is the next president, the Japan-U.S. alliance will remain the cornerstone of Japan-U.S. diplomacy.

Japanese were tweeting about their interest in the U.S. election, and retweeting developments, though not everyone was happy. One Twitter user complained: "The U.S. presidential election is the only thing I can see on any channel!"

Several major television stations suspended their regular morning programming to cover the vote, with a running tally of results and explanations of the electoral vote system.

The Liberal prime minister told students at an event in Ottawa that he will work with Trump not just for Canadians "but for the whole world." He earlier offered his congratulations in a statement and said Canada has no closer ally and partner than the United States.